Thermodynamics (n.) – the science concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy

Welcome to Thermodynamics: Post All-Star Weekend Edition. What does that mean? It means the Mavs had only one game this week, which renders pretty meaningless a weekly hot-cold column like this one (yeah, okay, this column is always meaningless; I see you, wise guy).

Instead of making this a hot-cold column exclusively about the Mavs-Magic game, let’s also expand into some of the fun off-court shenanigans going on in the world of ball.

Week 17 (Mavs v. Magic, All-Star game, trade deadline)

FIRE

1) Vinsanity

Vince Carter’s run at the end of the third quarter against Orlando last night caused one of the most intense and sudden momentum shifts you’ll ever see in an NBA game. The Mavs had been lethargic for the entire frame, were already down six points, and looked like they might be on the path toward a home blowout loss. Then OJ Mayo makes a huge hustle play to block a JJ Redick layup, and Carter scored on an alley-oop dunk four seconds later.

Four seconds. That’s all it took. From that point on, the Mavs dominated the game. Carter hit two more threes to end the quarter, and that was pretty much all she wrote. The Mavs dominated the fourth (complete with a totally gratuitous spinning-dance-move-assist-into-celebratory-arm-gesture pass from Carter to Marion), and the Magic walked off the court with a 15-point loss.

Carter also left his mark this week on an event where he wasn’t even present. During Saturday night’s dunk contest at All-Star Weekend, eventual champion Terrence Ross donned Carter’s old Toronto Raptors jersey and threw down a beautiful windmill dunk. Given that the Mavs had no players participating in All-Star festivities for the first time in two decades, it was a nice treat to see a current Mav represented in some capacity (actually, it was two Mavs — Dahntay Jones, live and in the flesh, assisted with one of Jeremy Evans’ dunks as well). And hey, old man Carter can still ball a bit.